Beyond The Chaos
by Artemis Day
Summary: When it all comes down to it, they're just people living their lives as best they can. A series of five slice-of-life drabbles. EdWin/brotherly!EdAl/AlMei/sibling!AlWin. Giftfic.
1. Number 1

**A/N: These were written for Dearheart42 as part of the FMA Clubhouse forum's Secret Gate Baby gift exchange.**

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><p>When Winry's wrench clamps down on the very top bolt, Ed cringes at the sting of pain that shoots up and down his leg. She tightens it, her face wrought with concentration, her hand resting on his upper leg. He can feel the calluses born from years of handling tools and machinery. The tip of her tongue sticks out from between her lips, and Ed can't help but notice that she looks kind of cute this way. His face starts to heat up at the thought and he pushes it aside, instead focusing on a high level alchemic equation he found in a library book the other day.<p>

She removes the wrench and drops in on her worktable with a clatter, wiping the sweat off her brow and drawing herself up.

"Okay, you're done," she says. "Try not to bust it up too much this time. I don't even know _what_ you were thinking jumping onto that moving train."

"It wasn't going that fast," Ed grumbles as he experimentally lifts the leg up and down. "And it was all that damn Envy's fault, he ran and I had to chase him."

"But he still got away," Winry points out, eyeballing the leg she just fixed. "And you knocked the plating right off. Now enough, I don't want to argue anymore."

She adds that last part quickly, when Ed opens his mouth to form some other kind of rebuttal that will likely lead them into an all out shouting match ending with Winry's wrench imbedded in Ed's skull.

Ed groans like a child, but says nothing else. He crosses his arms over his chest, the automail one glimmering in the sunlight streaming from an open window. Ed catches a whiff of something right then, something sweet that makes his mouth water. Winry takes notice and gives a sly smile.

"Oh yeah, Granny is making pie tonight," she explains. "Since you broke your automail again, I'm thinking maybe I shouldn't offer you a piece."

His jaw drops and she laughs playfully at the comical display. Regaining himself, Ed charges past her, a man on a mission who will not be stopped by anyone or anything.

"We'll see about that!" he shouts over his shoulder.

Winry makes a noise of indignation and follows him, still laughing the entire way. And though Ed loathes to admit it, her laugher is highly contagious.


	2. Number 2

"That one looks like a duck!"

I squint my eyes at the cloud Al had pointed out. It has a piece near the edge that juts out in a different direction than the rest and sort of looks like a bill. Other than that, I don't really see anything all that duck-like about it. It doesn't even have anything that resembles feet!

"And that one looks like a moose."

This next cloud is bigger than the last, and I can kind of see what my brother is talking about this time. I can make out the head, complete with a massive nose. The only problem is that there's nothing I could really call antlers. I'd sooner compare it to a deer, honestly.

"And that one is a tiger!"

Okay, now I _know_ Al isn't trying anymore. Granted, he's only four and doesn't know any better, but I still thought he'd be smarter than this. I sit up.

"Al, that cloud looks nothing like a tiger," I say.

My brother looks away from the sky and at me, clearly not happy with my words.

"Sure it does," he protests, sitting up as well to better glare at me. "It had a head like one and a tail like one."

I raise my eyebrow. "Yeah, show me."

Al smiles, it's a cheeky one too, as if he's about to make me eat my words and wants nothing more in the world than that. He lays back down and I wearily follow suit. He points again at the supposed tiger in the sky, tracing it with his finger so fast that I can hardly keep up.

"See?" he says. "There's the head, it's mouth is open because it's roaring. And on the other side is the tail. It's kind of small. I think maybe it was born that way, poor tiger."

I give Al a look, but he's too lost in his fantasy to notice. I go back at the cloud, and this time, I can actually kind of see what Al's talking about. When you look at it the right way, it really does look like a roaring tiger. It'd be better though if it had some stripes or something.

"Hey Ed," Al says. "Do you think if I asked nicely, mom would let me get a tiger?"

"Nah," I say, shaking my head. "Pet stores don't sell them. They'd be too hard to take care of."

"Oh," Al answers, deflated. There's a short pause before he speaks again. "What about a cat?"

"I doubt it. I don't think mom likes pets."

"Oh," he says a second time, though he doesn't sound as sad as the first for some reason. "When I grow up, I'm going to have a house all my own, and I'm going to fill it with cats!"

I move my head to stare at him. "How exactly are you going to feed all these cats?"

"That's easy," Al says brightly. "I'll just give them all the milk you won't drink."

He giggles like he's just told the funniest joke in the world. I shudder at the thought of how much milk that would have to be (really, just thinking about milk in general makes me feel sick). Eventually, Al calms back down and relaxes, gazing up at the clouds like they're the only thing in the world that matters and finding all sorts of weird and wild animals in them. I don't know how he does it, but it's actually kind of fun. You know, kind of.

"That one looks like a koala bear!"

"Whatever you say, Al."


	3. Number 3

Mei gazed at the tiny splash of purple and yellow resting in the palm of her hand. The spring flowers were coming in beautifully this year, and after being away for the last few years and missing them, she was happy to be here, walking through the gardens she loved so much as a child.

Now a twenty year old, soon to be married woman, it seemed nothing about Mei's love for the bright colors and wonderful scents had faded. She brushed a finger against the soft petal of the flower she had picked. She knew the gardener would be furious with her for taking even the one, but she couldn't help herself. Xiao Mei fidgeted on her shoulder and gave a whine. Mei rolled her eyes at her impatient little friend, but held up the flower for her to see all the same.

"It sure is lovely here, isn't it, Xiao Mei?" Mei said, staring out at the setting sun over the lush forest the surrounded her clan's village.

"Mei?"

The princess gasped and whirled around. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed anyone approaching her. Momentarily afraid that the gardener really had caught her in the act, Mei was incredibly relieved to find the kind, handsome face of her beloved fiancée.

"Oh, Alphonse-sama," she said, grinning sheepishly. "I didn't see you there."

Al chuckled and walked over, pulling Mei into a hug that she gladly returned. She was careful not to accidentally crush the delicate flower in the process. When Al let her go, his eyes fell to her half closed fist.

"What's that?" he asked, pointing at it.

Mei smiled, a little nervous to let him know that she'd been gushing over flowers like a starry eyed child. It didn't seem very lady-like. She held out her hand anyway, opening her palm to let him see it.

"We grow these in our garden every year," she explained. "And they finally bloomed this morning. Isn't it beautiful?"

He eyed the flower with an odd look Mei couldn't place. He looked more like he was perusing one of her alkahestry texts, rather than admiring nature's beauty. Perhaps he didn't like it, or maybe he really did think she was being silly.

Then he raised a hand and placed it over the flower. Mei blinked, her face heating up at the contact, but she didn't pull away. Alphonse removed his hand, and when she felt a cool breeze against her palm, Mei realized he had taken the flower with him. She opened her mouth to ask, but the words caught in her throat when Alphonse stepped closer. From here, the height difference between the two was more noticeable than ever. Even though she'd grown almost a foot and a half since her adolescent, Mei would likely always need to crane her neck up to look Alphonse in the eye (not that this was a bad thing, as she'd always preferred tall men). His hands found the top of her head and she felt a funny pressure on the knot of her braid that went away almost as fast as it came.

Alphonse moved back, and Mei instinctively raised her hand, feeling for whatever it was he had just done. She felt nothing but thick hair at first, and then her fingers brushed against something else. Something soft and smooth like a flower's petal. Alphonse's face broke into a smile.

"It sure is," he said.


	4. Number 4

Al readjusted his tie for the forth or fifth time, flattening out non-existent creases and wrinkles. He stared at his reflection, his neatly cut hair and warm gold eyes, his tall frame clothed in a fancy black suit that he'd spent an inordinate amount of time and money on, the white carnation slipped into the lapel.

He could hear the guests slowly arriving through the not thick enough walls of the dressing room. He wondered how many of his future wife's relatives had arrived, and how many of them were unhappy about the Amestrian aspects of their decidedly mixed culture wedding.

Wedding.

He was getting _married.__  
><em>

It had hit him only several hours ago. How amazing it was that he'd been living in a fog of delirious joy for the last few months since Mei accepted his proposal. Back then, he would spend hours imagining his life with her. Where they would live, what places they would travel to, what their children would look like.

Now all he could think about was the sheer finality of the word marriage and all the positive and negative connotations that went with it, mostly the former.

What if it didn't work out?

What if one of them did something wrong and the other couldn't take it and left?

What if they just plain lost interest in each other a few years down the line?

All these questions and more had hit him like a ton of bricks and beaten his brain into a bloody pulp. Al could barely even focus on the blonde haired, blue eyed woman approaching him with an exasperated sigh.

"Al, I told you to stop messing with your tie," Winry admonished him, reaching up to fix it again. "It's fine as it is."

"Okay, sorry Winry," Al droned, not really hearing or even looking at her.

Winry furrowed her brow. "Are you alright?"

"Sure I am," he answered much too fast and without even the slightest infliction. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

She gave him a flat look, but then smiled as she seemed to figure out just what the problem was. With a light chuckle, Winry rested her hands on Al's shoulders and gently pushed him down on the cushiony chair behind him. She then sat as well.

"Al, it's okay to be nervous," she said. "This is a big day for you and marriage is a major step. I sure know I was nervous on my wedding day."

In spite of himself, Al chuckled at that, as memories of that day two years ago surfaced.

"You couldn't have been worse than Ed," he said. "I don't think I've ever seen him that scared, not even when we were fighting the homunculi."

Winry snorted, tucking a loose section of hair behind her ear. "That figures."

Al nodded, his earlier fears hitting him and dissolving all semi-happy feelings. He looked away from his sister-in-law, trying to find the right words for what he wanted to say next.

"Winry," he started. "How did, um… how did you get over your fears? Of getting married, that is."

Winry pursed her lips, looking deep in thought the way she only ever did when working on a particularly difficult piece of automail. Al waited on the edge of his seat for an answer, the weight in his stomach growing with every second the silence remained in place.

"I guess it was when I was walking down the aisle," she finally said. "I was so nervous, I could barely bring myself to keep moving, but then I saw Ed there waiting for me. And he was smiling, but somehow I could tell that he was just as scared as I was. That's when I thought, 'I guess we'll have to do what we can to calm each other's fears.' What I'm saying is that I realized that no matter what, Ed and I would always have each other from here on in, and because we love each other so much, we could survive anything."

She paused and took Al's hand in hers, rubbing the top in a comforting fashion.

"I believe it'll be the same for you and Mei," she continued. "You two are so great together."

Al stared at her hand, at the plain gold band that had adorned the fourth finger for two years now. The weight seemed to have vanished in an instant, and in it's place was a warm feeling.

"I see," he said. "Thanks Winry. I needed to hear that."

She smiled, and then immediately stood up, pulling Al with her.

"Alright, come on," she said, gesturing at the double doors that led to the main hall. "It's almost time to start."

Al nodded again, this time with purpose, and strode passed her toward the exit, pushing the doors open without a moment's hesitation.

He was ready.

He could do this.

He would do this.

This was going to be the greatest day of his life, he just knew it.

"Wait until you see Mei," Winry called back to him as she went to take her place with the other bridesmaids. "You're going to be blown away."

And he was.


	5. Number 5

"Ed, stop that right now."

Ed froze, the lid of the cardboard box held between his thumb and pointer finger and hovering half opened in the air. His wife glared back into his eyes, her arms crossed and looking very much like a mother punishing her child for sneaking a cookie before dinner.

He allowed the lid to slip out from his already light grasp and fall shut before giving a nervous cough.

"I just wanted a small piece," he muttered.

"You know we're not serving the pie until dessert," Winry reminded him. "Surely you can wait."

"Oh I can," he answered, drawing himself to full height (and not for the first time thanking Truth that he was finally taller than her). "But by the time dessert rolls around, that idiot Ling will have eaten it all, just like every other time we invite him and his pals over."

"You shouldn't be calling a foreign emperor names, Fullmetal," the ever annoying voice of Roy Mustang sounded as he and Riza Hawkeye approached, drinks in hand. "That could cause some serious problems for our country."

"Yeah right," Ed said, rolling his eyes at the thought of Ling Yao actually starting a war over a few insults. "He doesn't care what I say about him as long as he can raid my fridge. And stop calling me 'Fullmetal,' you know I'm not part of the military anymore."

Roy snorted, taking a sip of water before responding.

"I know, but you'll always be Fullmetal to me."

"Fine then," Ed replied. "And you'll always be a self-righteous bastard to _me_."

"Now, now you two," Hawkeye calmly spoke up. "Today's a nice day. No need to start anything."

"She's quite right," the eponymous Ling Yao said as he and Lan Fan walked over, both of whom had loaded their arms with food from the refreshment table. "Have you tried the chicken wings, they're incredible!"

"Nobody will be able to if you eat them all," Ed cried, grabbing a large plate of them that Ling had somehow been balancing on his elbow. He ignored Ling's protests and replaced it on the refreshment table. "And by the way, just because we said to try whatever you liked doesn't mean you can take everything. Other people here need to eat too."

Ling scoffed.

"I know that, and I did _not_ take everything, for your information," he motioned at his ever present and unfailingly loyal bodyguard, who didn't seem at all affected by the twenty something dishes in her arms. "I gave some of it to Lan Fan!"

Ed stared at him, then pinched the bridge of his nose, a growl escaping his throat.

"How the _hell_ did you become Emperor when you're such an idiot?"

Despite the obvious rhetorical nature of this question, Ling felt the need to come up with an explanation anyway. It was more than likely for the sole purpose of getting even more on Ed's nerves than he already had.

"Why, with charisma and a charming personality, of course!"

He was succeeding beyond his wildest dreams.

"Yeah, whose?" Ed answered snidely.

Before Ling could answer and continue the impromptu comedy routine, their party was joined by two more arrivals, both of whom wore traditional Xingese clothing similar to Ling and Lan Fan.

"Hey, what's going on over here?" Al asked as Mei leaned over the punch bowl, getting herself and her husband a drink.

"Nothing much," Roy shrugged and pointed a lazy finger at Ed. "Fullmetal here is just trying to spark an international incident."

Ed scowled at him, while Ling began chuckling between massive bites of potato salad.

"Are you guys enjoying yourself?" Winry asked while Mei handed Al his drink.

"Oh yes," Al answered, wrapping an arm around his wife and pulling her close. "It's great to see you guys again after all this time."

"We just saw them last year," Ed said.

"That's a pretty long time," replied Mei.

Ed cast a glance at Ling, who was still gorging himself on enough food to feed ten people, and narrowed his eyes.

"For some of us, it's not long enough."

"Alright, everyone," Al said loudly, whether or not to avoid another pointless argument from breaking out, no one would ever know. "I propose a toast."

This was met with a murmur of agreement as the eight of them all grabbed their drinks from wherever they had placed them (Ling and Lan Fan choose this moment to finally put down all the plates they were holding, somehow not dropping a single crumb). Winry poured herself some punch before rejoining the circle, standing between Ed and Ling.

"So what are we toasting to?" Hawkeye asked.

"To all of our great friends!" Ling suggested, clapping a hand on Ed's back which the former alchemist promptly pulled away from.

"The nice day, maybe," was Mei's input. "I was sure from those clouds yesterday that it would rain."

"How about the growing amicability between the clans of Xing?" Lan Fan spoke up softly.

"We could toast to Fullmetal finally growing a few inches!" Roy joked, earning an enraged glare from Ed.

"Or what about we toast to you getting rid of that horrendous thing on your face," he shot back.

"That mustache was very distinguished," Roy said, a vein popping out on his forehead as he glared at the cheeky grin on Ed's face. It only got worse when a certain Emperor leaned into view.

"No it wasn't," he said. "In fact, when I first saw that picture of you, I was sure that Ed here had just drawn it on as a joke. I was shocked when I found out it was real."

Roy's eyes twitched, and he grumbled something incomprehensible. The only thing anyone could make out was something that sounded suspiciously like 'just shut up.' Naturally, Ed jumped on that like a wildcat on the hunt.

"Oh, now who's trying to 'start an international incident?'"

Roy was unable to respond, as Al suddenly burst out laughing. He shakily put down his drink so as not to risk dropping it while wrapping his arms around his gut from sheer force of his mirth.

"M-man, you guys are something else," he gasped out, leaning on Mei's shoulder as she began to giggle with him. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, then raised his glass a second time. "I say we toast to all the good times we're having now, and that we will have in the future."

Ed raised an eyebrow, then glanced around to see that no one had any objections to this idea as far as he could see. His gaze then landed on his brother, and he gave a snort of his own.

"That's pretty corny, Al."

Al frowned, looking deflated for a moment, but then Ed's face broke out in a smile and he raised his glass high.

"Cheers," he said.

One by one, Winry, Roy, Riza, Ling, Lan Fan, Mei, and finally Al brought up their drinks and clinked them together, making a loud and disjointed sound that went unnoticed amid the round of 'cheers' spoken and the short bits of conversation that followed. Ed couldn't stop smiling, an elated feeling in his stomach that years ago, he never would have imagined he could experience.

Now he was making up a circle of his closest friends, his beautiful wife at his side. And it was such a beautiful day for this get together. Ed sighed, pulling Winry closer and enjoying the feel of her against him. He saw Al and Mei in a similar position, and Mustang talking with Hawkeye in the corner, probably about something he would never discuss with anyone else. Even Ling and Lan Fan seemed happier, even though Lan Fan was still afraid to stray from the master/servant bond as Ling clearly wanted to. It was a great time for all of them, the fruit of all the hardships they had faced together.

"Having fun?" Winry asked.

Ed nodded his head, not looking away from crowd of his friends and family. "Yeah, I am."

"Well, I know I'm enjoying myself!" said the obnoxious and muffled voice of Ling as he came back over and draped himself over Ed's shoulder. Ed groaned in annoyance, which only grew when Ling swallowed whatever he'd been eating and leaned in close. "And don't worry about what Mustang says. I wouldn't start a war with you guys over a few playful jabs at me."

"Playful, right," Ed droned, trying and failing to subtly push Ling off of him.

"If worse comes to worst," the idiot Emperor continued. "You could just settle the dispute by letting me take Winry as my Empress!"

Two seconds later, a fuming Ed pulled Winry back into the house, while Ling remained in place, a bowl of chocolate pudding overturned on his head and the brown substance running down his face and neck.

"I was kidding," he whined.

As Lan Fan went to help him clean up, everyone else had to fight to keep from laughing out loud. Even the infallible Riza was smiling. And even though Ed's face hadn't lost that angry red and Winry was clearly not happy with him for wasting a dessert she'd helped make, he couldn't find it in him to lose his smile, or those happy feelings that came with it.

After all, today was a very good day.


End file.
